Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST Position Boosted by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its ownership of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. to 9.83%, with a total of 802,974 shares after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares in Q1.
• Southern First Bancshares reported earnings of $0.81 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.65, with quarterly revenue reaching $28.63 million.
• Analysts have given Southern First Bancshares a consensus rating of "Buy" with a target price of $51.00, reflecting recent upward adjustments from firms such as Piper Sandler.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 802,974 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 5,931 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 9.83% of Southern First Bancshares worth $26,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 9,638.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,306 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,506 shares of the bank's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 6.5% in the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the bank's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SFST traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.20. 7,392 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,030. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.14 and a 52-week high of $45.99. The business's fifty day moving average price is $40.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.77 million, a PE ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.16. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $28.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.80 million. Analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Southern First Bancshares from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,083 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total transaction of $38,684.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,829,042.60. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.